Get past the irony of Britney Spears telling people to “Mind Your Business” and sink into the latest contender for song of the summer.
Spears, who has become the queen of offbeat and revealing Instagram posts, has paired with Will.i.am for the club thumper, which arrived Friday after being announced by the Black Eyed Peas leader earlier in the week.
Following the blueprint of their 2013 club hit, “Scream & Shout,” the new collaboration rides on a crisp, staccato beat and rubbery synthesizers. As a high hat chugs in the background, Spears recites her tagline, “mind your business, b—-.” Throughout the song, she and Will.i.am trade lyrics about relentless paparazzi.
“Snap, snap is the sound … where she at? … there she go … what she do?” Spears repeats, mimicking the media frenzy that usually follows her, while Will.i.am offers, “I’m so sick of all these lookie-loos” before nodding to The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” with references to “every step I take, every move I make.”
Will.i.am and Spears have been frequent music partners for more than a decade. He produced several Spears tracks, including “Big Fat Bass” in 2011 and most of her 2013 album, “Britney Jean.”
In an interview on CBS Mornings Thursday, Will.i.am, who is readying a fifth solo album, reminded us he’s been “a fan, a friend and a supporter” of Spears for years.
Providing some insight into their latest musical coupling, the rapper-producer said he sees “the same light and joy and passion” in Spears that he remembers from their earliest days working together in the studio.
“Music is therapeutic … dancing is therapeutic … when you have that connection, it helps you with anything that you’re going through,” Will.i.am said.
As for the song title, Will.i.am noted that it’s a pointed reference to the exhaustion of living life in a figurative fishbowl.
“Everyone is entitled to their version of privacy,” he said.
Britney on Broadway: “Once Upon A One More Time” is a celebration of Spears’ music
This is Spears’ second song since being released from her conservatorship in 2021. Last year, she teamed with Elton John for “Hold Me Closer,” a dance floor mashup of his classics “Tiny Dancer” and “The One” with a splash of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
The oft-scrutinized pop star plans to “express openly” about her life in her anticipated Oct. 24 memoir “The Woman in Me.”
Spears previously co-authored the 2000 autobiography “Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart” and 2001 YA novel “A Mother’s Gift” with her mother, Lynne Spears, both of which appeared on the USA TODAY Best-Selling books list.
Contributing: Morgan Hines
Detroit duo: Eminem surprised pal Ed Sheeran to perform a couple of songs in the rapper’s hometown
